Order a bowl of seolleongtang anywhere in North Dallas and the first thing that hits the table isn’t the soup. It’s six or seven small plates you didn’t order, arriving before you’ve said a word past your entree. That’s banchan: a rotating set of shared side dishes, usually cold or room temperature, that come free with every meal and get refilled if you ask. Seasoned bean sprouts, braised potatoes, pickled radish, a few kinds of kimchi. They aren’t appetizers and they aren’t extras tacked onto the bill.
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